| Asarum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Asarum caudatum (western wild ginger) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Piperales |
| Family: | Aristolochiaceae |
| Subfamily: | Asaroideae |
| Genus: | Asarum L. |
| Type species | |
| Asarum europaeum | |
| Species | |
See text | |
Asarum is a genus of plants in the birthwort family Aristolochiaceae, commonly known as wild ginger.
Asarum is the genitive plural of the Latin āsa (an alternate form of āra) meaning altar or sanctuary.
Asarum is a genus of low-growing herbs distributed across the temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere, with most species in East Asia (China, Japan, and Vietnam) and North America, and one species in Europe. Biogeographically, Asarum originated in Asia.
They have characteristic kidney-shaped leaves, growing from creeping rhizomes, and bear small, axillary, brown or reddish flowers.
The plant is called wild ginger because the rhizomes and leaves taste and smell similar to ginger root, but the two are not particularly related. The FDA warns against consuming Asarum, as it is nephrotoxic and contains the potent carcinogen aristolochic acid. [1] [2] [3] The birthwort family also contains the genus Aristolochia , known for carcinogens.
Wild ginger favors moist, shaded sites with humus-rich soil. The deciduous, heart-shaped leaves are opposite, and borne from the rhizome which lies just under the soil surface. Two leaves emerge each year from the growing tip. The curious jug-shaped flowers, which give the plant an alternate name, little jug, are borne singly in spring between the leaf bases.
Wild ginger can easily be grown in a shade garden, and makes an attractive groundcover.
Traditionally, the genus Asarum was considered as a single genus with about 85 species. However, a trend exists among some botanists to segregate the genus into separate genera, based on considerations of chromosome number and floral morphology:
Study of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA, combined with morphological data, has yielded a better-resolved phylogenetic hypothesis, supporting a recognition of two subgenera, Asarum and Heterotropa each containing two sections, rather than the segregated genera above. [4]
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Wild ginger can be cooked in the same fashion as ginger root, and can also be candied or used to make medicine. [7]
Ginger is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems about one meter tall, bearing narrow leaf blades. The inflorescences bear flowers having pale yellow petals with purple edges, and arise directly from the rhizome on separate shoots.
The Aristolochiaceae are a family, the birthwort family, of flowering plants with seven genera and about 400 known species belonging to the order Piperales. The type genus is Aristolochia L.
Aristolochic acids are a family of carcinogenic, mutagenic, and nephrotoxic phytochemicals commonly found in the flowering plant family Aristolochiaceae (birthworts). Aristolochic acid (AA) I is the most abundant one. The family Aristolochiaceae includes the genera Aristolochia and Asarum, which are commonly used in Chinese herbal medicine. Although these compounds are widely associated with kidney problems, liver and urothelial cancers, the use of AA-containing plants for medicinal purposes has a long history. The FDA has issued warnings regarding consumption of AA-containing supplements.
Aristolochia is a large plant genus with over 500 species that is the type genus of the family Aristolochiaceae. Its members are commonly known as birthwort, pipevine or Dutchman's pipe and are widespread and occur in the most diverse climates. Some species, like A. utriformis and A. westlandii, are threatened with extinction.
Paulowniaceae are a family of flowering plants within the Lamiales. They are a monophyletic and monogeneric family of trees with currently 7 confirmed species. They were formerly placed within Scrophulariaceae sensu lato, or as a segregate of the Bignoniaceae.
Asarum europaeum, commonly known as asarabacca, European wild ginger, hazelwort, and wild spikenard, historically cabarick, is a species of flowering plant in the birthwort family Aristolochiaceae, native to large parts of temperate Europe, and also cultivated in gardens. It is a creeping evergreen perennial with glossy green, kidney shaped leaves and solitary dull purple flowers hidden by the leaves. Though its roots have a ginger aroma, it is not closely related to the true culinary ginger Zingiber officinale, which originates in tropical Asian rainforests. It is sometimes harvested for use as a spice or a flavoring. In former days, it was used in snuff and also medicinally as an emetic and cathartic.
Encyclia is a genus of orchids. The genus name comes from Greek enkykleomai, referring to the lateral lobes of the lip which encircle the column. It is abbreviated as E. in the horticultural trade.
Aristolochia californica, the California pipevine, California Dutchman's-pipe, or California snakeroot is a perennial woody vine of western North America.
Pachliopta aristolochiae, the common rose, is a species of swallowtail butterfly belonging to the genus Pachliopta, the roses, or red-bodied swallowtails. It is a common butterfly which is extensively distributed across south and southeast Asia.
Anemonastrum canadense, synonym Anemone canadensis, the Canada anemone, round-headed anemone, round-leaf thimbleweed, meadow anemone, windflower, or crowfoot, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae. It is native to moist meadows, thickets, streambanks, and lakeshores in North America, spreading rapidly by underground rhizomes. It is valued for its white flowers.
Aristolochia clematitis, the (European) birthwort, is a twining herbaceous plant in the family Aristolochiaceae, which is native to Europe. The leaves are heart shaped and the flowers are pale yellow and tubular in form. The plant seeks light by ascending the stems of surrounding plants.
Aristolochia littoralis, the calico flower or elegant Dutchman's pipe, is a species of evergreen vine belonging to the family Aristolochiaceae.
Aristolochia rotunda, commonly known as smearwort or round-leaved birthwort, is a herbaceous perennial plant native to Southern Europe.
Hexastylis or heartleaf is a segregate of the genus Asarum, in the family Aristolochiaceae. The group comprises ten species endemic to southeastern North America. It is a perennial, evergreen, herbaceous plant with leaves and flowers arising directly from the rhizomes. Hexastylis was once recognized at the level of genus, and in some floral treatments still is, yet it has been shown through morphological and molecular evidence that it is rooted within the genus Asarum.
Lymnaeidae, common name the pond snails, is a taxonomic family of small to large air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks, that belong to the clade Hygrophila.
Asarum canadense, commonly known as Canada wild ginger, Canadian snakeroot, and broad-leaved asarabacca, is a herbaceous, perennial plant which forms dense colonies in the understory of deciduous forests throughout its native range in eastern North America, from the Great Plains east to the Atlantic Coast, and from southeastern Canada south to around the Fall Line in the southeastern United States.
Asarum caudatum is a plant native to rich moist forests of western North America. It has heart-shaped leaves and a three-lobed purplish flower.
Asarum marmoratum is a species of wild ginger known by the common name marbled wild ginger.
Aristolochia longa or long aristolochia is a species of pipevine.
Aristolochia paucinervis is a herbaceous plant in the family Aristolochiaceae endemic to the western Mediterranean Basin.
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